Ethical Spending

With loans just in, students’ bank balances are replenished and, as a result, spending is increasing. Yet, whilst caught up in the fun of it all, it is easy to forget the importance of spending ethically.

Autumn and winter trends see in a variety of new make-up styles, from smokey eyes to dark lips, but it is easy to forget the millions of animals that die each year as a gruesome consequence. Is the inhumane death of an animal really necessary to ensure that the latest cosmetic splurge does not irritate eyes and skin?

Animal testing for cosmetic purpose was, in fact, banned from the UK in 1998, although it is unbelievably still common practise elsewhere. Testing is carried out in various ways, such as forcing a group of animals to consume a product until half of them die, in order to determine the lethal dosage of a product. Products are also applied to the skin of animals, such as rabbits, in order to test whether they are harmful.

Not only is this cruel and inhumane, but the value of such tests should also be taken into consideration. Humans and animals react to products in different ways, provoking the question of whether testing products designed for humans on animals is at all productive to a manufacturer.For example,the lethal dosage for a rat to consume is completely different to the amount that is lethal to a human. As a result, many argue that animal testing in order to ensure cosmetics are safe is an unnecessarily barbaric procedure that causes needless suffering and death.

Avoiding animal-tested cosmetics is one form of protest, albeit on a small-scale. It can be daunting to know where to begin, but website www.leapingbunny.org can point you in the right direction with its ‘Cruelty-Free Shopping Guide’.

Probably the most well-known anti animal-testing cosmetics company is The Body Shop, which was founded by human rights activist Anita Roddick. This company is the first ‘international cosmetics brand to be recognised under the Humane Cosmetics Standard for its Against Animal Testing policy’. Shopping with such a company for cosmetics is one key way to make a difference and discourage the continuing practise of disturbing animal testing.

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The Wessex Scene is the oldest student news provider at the University of Southampton, and has been in print since 1936. The Scene is written and edited by students, for students, and is always looking to welcome new writers, photographers, designers, researchers and illustrators.